June 2007 Photos
The kids galleries for the month of June are now available for review. The gallery consists of previously published photos with the exception of several that were taken on my recent business trip to Utah. I've included those photos below (click to enlarge):

You can review the full galleries either by accessing the "June 2007" links on Berkeley's web site or Eliana's web site. Or you can simply access the galleries directly using the following links:

Berkeley's June 2007 Gallery ... (4 years, 11 months old)
Eliana's June 2007 Gallery ... (3 years, 3 months old)
Olivia's June 2007 Gallery ... (11 months old)

Isabella's Birthday Party at Suncadia
We traveled up to Suncadia (near Cle Elum) to attend a birthday party for Isabella (our neighbor). Jerrod and Tracy bought a "cabin" up there. It is a nice place. After the party festivities (which included a treasure hunt, pinñata, etc), the party guests were invited to spend some time at the resort's pool. The entire affair was well worth the one-hour-plus drive.

Here are some party pictures:

Back Home
I arrived back home this evening at about 8:30pm local time. Berkeley was still awake and Olivia was still awake. I brought the kids back some gifts. Berkeley got his first baseball mitt (I'm presuming he'll be throwing right, but it could still go either way); Eliana got a purple ballet dress-up outfit; and Olivia got two new binkies (she loses at least one a week). I also brought home a slip-n-slide for all of them. These gifts were a significant upgrade over my last business trip when I brought each of them home a package of Starburst candy.

Eliana is asleep, so she'll open her gift tomorrow. But Berkeley opened his up... he was pretty excited about it.

Work Party
I am in Utah this week coincidentally on the day that the Orem office is having a summer party - a dinner-day-out-at-the-ballpark activity at the Orem Owls stadium (at UVSC). I met Brent and his family (Amanda, Tyler, and Brielle) at the stadium for the event. There were quite a few folks there - most are now unknown to me - my old boss, Bill (now my boss's boss) was there with his family. Mark and Becky were there (who I know way back from ECGL days). Emily was arranging the whole thing. I asked her when was the last time there was a company party and she said probably back when I was a part-owner. So I guess it was a rare event. Heh.

I predominantly hung out with Brent and my nephew/nieces. I wish I had more time on these trips to see everyone in my family, but it doesn't look like I'll be able to see Mark/Jen (and gang) this go around. Next time.

Restaurant Review: Rumbi Island Grill

The Rumbi Island Grill serves food with an "Island" theme: Jamaican Jerk Chicken, Bahama Tortilla Soup, Hawaiian Teriyaki, Bali Peanut Sauce Rice Bowl. The "islands" in question seem to span both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans... I guess that works. The options offered on the menu include about 7-8 chicken salads, rice and noodle bowls, and sandwiches. Most of the items on the menu appear to be sweetened... either with pineapple juice, coconut juice, mango juice, or barbeque sauce. I guess that isn't surprising... and I'm not complaining.

I ordered the barbeque sandwich served with cole slaw (on the bun) and some sweet potato (and regular) french fries. I noticed when I ordered and after I sat down at a table that the portions are very large. Two adults could easily split any item I saw being delivered to the tables around me. My plate was no different. It included a very large, thick, whole-wheat bun stacked high with pork and cole slaw. There were quite a few french fries as well, more than enough for me anyway.

The sandwich was very tasty. Sherm's serves a similar sandwich called the "North Carolina Pig" that includes cole slaw on the sandwich. I think this one was better than Sherm's. The slaw was dry enough so as not to make the bottom bun soggy (a problem at Sherm's), but wet enough to provide the necessary tang to the sandwich to balance out the sweet barbeque sauce. The sweet potato french fries were very good... much better than the regular fries.

Summary: Good lunch fare. Huge portions.... I recommend splitting a dish between two adults.

Reunion Committee Home Visits
I just returned home after spending the evening with seven other members of the Skyline High School Class of 1987 Reunion committee members: Mark, Steve, Dave(c), Suzy, Kristi, Sue, and Kay. Once every other week, various members of the committee have been visiting homes of our fellow alumni (unannounced) and snapping pictures for the purposes of a "Then and Now" video that Dave(c) is producing. I think they have gone on 4 or 5 other "stalks" (as they call them), but this is the first that I had attended... I am the only member of the committee that lives outside the State of Utah.

Typically, the morning after a "stalk" a member of the committee (Suzy) will compose a humorous encapsulation of the previous night's activities and post it to our committee mailing list. I decided to get a jump on Suzy and post my own narrative that would serve as a foil to her comical recap, here is the beginning of my summary:

Our first stop was Garth Holmoe's house. After we knocked on his door, it was quiet and heavy with the anticipation of our first "hit". The rotary sprinkler heads in the side yard ticked the seconds away as they sprayed the bushes, grass, and weeds repetitively; having been set on an endless course by their now absent yard maintenance overlord. The Holmoe door stood motionless before us, brooding in its peeling dark brown paint, and taunting us to knock again. Instead, we sulked away. Kristi wept.

It's a good start I think.... I'll finish the rest later.

We managed to visit about 10 of my former classmates and their families. Most of them I wasn't very close to in high school and some of them were just outright unrecognizable. But it was still a lot of fun to hear the old names, see some of the old faces, meet their kids and spouses, and talk for a bit while standing on their respective porches and front lawns.

At many instances throughout the night, the environment seemed quite surreal - especially during the drives between homes (the eight of us were all piled into a single GMC Yukon). For example, during the drives the conversations often centered on events that took place in high school. I didn't have much input because the committee members that I know best (Gretchen, Dave(b), Kevin, and Chris) were all absent - so the high school experiences that were discussed were mostly those I was not a part of (parties, dances, trips, etc). The rest of the group was populated with what I would term as what was "the in crowd" during high school (the cheerleaders, the "pretty" and "popular", student body officers, etc); and no, I was definitely not part of that crowd.

And so, sometimes I felt a bit weird, perhaps even awkward. I would find myself just staring out the window and listening to the background (80s) music that was playing on the car's sound system... humming to myself or repeating the well-known lyrics in my mind. Of course, none of the high school social caste system matters one whit now (and I should be clear that I am on very friendly terms with every member of the committee). But with respect to shared experience, it still creates a shadow of the social separation that existed back then... which created this kind of surreal feeling for me. Nonetheless, it was a fun time and I am glad I had the opportunity to participate in one of the "stalks" after reading the recap of so many others.

Product Review: Rold Gold Honey Mustard Pretzels
I don't get fresh hot pretzels that often, but when I do, I will invariably dip them in a bit of mustard. Something I picked up from my brother Brent probably (Brent is renown from our youth for making and eating his signature peanut butter and mustard sandwiches or PBMs). Brent was making us some sandwiches to eat for lunch in the office break room (no, not PBMs), so I went out to the store to buy some chips and sodas.

When I saw these honey mustard pretzels in the store today I had to buy them for Brent to try (I had them once before while on another trip). They are great tasting pretzels. The tangy mustard and honey flavor is just perfect for the salty pretzel. Good to munch with a sandwich and a soda. Once you taste them you'll never buy ordinary pretzels again.

Another Business Trip
I'm in Utah again this week for business. The parents met me at the airport; I'm borrowing Dad's car this week. Brent, Mark, and Jess were all at the office working today. I'll try and see each of their families this week. Coincidentally Stacey is here too. His eldest daughter is starting BYU this fall and is here to fix her up with a place and get her settled. Stacey and I had lunch together and caught up a bit. It will likely be a busy week.

Sleeping Out
Last night we set up and slept out in our new family tent (that I received as a gift for Father's Day). We left the tent set up today for night #2 of sleeping out. I snapped a picture of the kids in the tent while they watched a DVD before going to bed.

Some Thursday Pictures
Kristy took this picture of the girls today:

I took some pictures of Berkeley in the backyard:

In the evening, Kristy and Eliana went to Club Libby Lu for a mother/daughter night out. Eliana got a princess makeover. Here are a couple of pictures of the result:

Summer Swimming Lessons
We enrolled Berkeley and Eliana in swimming lessons at the Club a couple of weeks ago. These are Eliana's first swimming lessons, and Berkeley's second set of lessons (we skipped lessons last summer for Berkeley). On the first day of lessons about two weeks ago, Eliana was not happy at all to participate and spent the half hour screaming and crying. But she has been warming to her teacher. Today Kristy told me that Eliana seems to have fully adjusted... no crying at least. It took Berkeley a few sessions before he felt comfortable in the water without us in the water as well. Kristy also informed me that Berkeley can swim across the kiddie pool using a crawl stroke without any assistance from his teacher or a flotation device (or otherwise). I missed the event, but I'll see it for myself possibly in the coming weeks.

Last Minute Baseball Game with Berkeley
Our neighbors Art and Valine called me up today and asked me if I wanted to take a couple of tickets for the Mariner game tonight. I graciously accepted and took Berkeley. We got a late start and listened to the game while we motored along I-90. Berkeley seemed to be listening intently. When the starting lineups were announced he asked me if each of the names were Mariners or not. I explained to him that they go through one team and then the next. Later in the drive, Berkeley heard a name ("Vidro").

"Dad, is Vidro a Mariner?"

"Yes, Berkeley, he is.", I responded.

"Then let's cheer for Vidro, ok Dad?"

(a slight pause)

"Vidro! Vidro! Vidro!" he chanted from his booster seat in the back.

The exchange was humorous to me because I typically watch the games in stoic silence - I reserve my cheers and applause for the big moments in the game... that's just how I am. So I have no idea where Berkeley picked this up from... it's baffling.

After arriving at the Safe, we purchased a hot bag of peanuts, a licorice rope, and the monster-sized lemon-lime soda. We then settled down into our seats and pretty much remained there for the entire game. At the beginning I was shelling the peanuts and placing them in my palm for him to eat. After a couple of innings he wanted to crack them himself. He asked me to help get the peanuts started - I would give a peanut a good squeeze and hand it over to him. Then he would concentrate on prying the two halves apart, picking away the peanut shell to get the nut, and then shuck the peanuts of their skins. He dropped quite a few at first, but got better as the game progressed.

I probably watched Berkeley more than I watched the game... I didn't watch him in the sense that he needed to be looked after, but I watched him in contemplation as an observer might inspect a small beautifully formed flower in the midst of a landscape of chaotic vegetation. I watched his hands and fingers and they fumbled with one peanut after the next. I watched his facial expressions as he reacted to the crowd noise and the ball game being played in front of him. I watched his eyes and beheld the field of view that he was inspecting; it was reflected perfectly in his blue-green irises. I could tell he was enjoying himself. As did I; it was a good night out with my son.

Random Wednesday Picture
I took this picture today. They weren't doing anything but watching the TV, but I was marvelling at how big they have grown... they both tower over Olivia.

HDR Imaging
Inspired by a photo posted in a blog entry by Khan (that he took while vacationing in France), I read up about the methodology he used to produce the photo - High Dynamic Range Imaging or HDR. If you like the very striking picture that Khan took, then you will probably also enjoy these two HDR photo sites:

HDR Photo Group, Flickr
HDR Okinawa, Japan

This is my own first (poor quality) effort at HDR (click to enlarge):

You can see a bit of ghosting is present because I didn't keep the camera completely still between the three exposures. This is because I have not yet figured out how to set up the exposure bracketing on my camera to take three exposures with just one click of the button. (Note: I have since figured out the bracketing feature of my camera... reading the manual works wonders!)

Now compare the HDR image to the "normal" image taken at just the one exposure:

Non-HDR and HDR Image of Kristy in Her Home Office

To create the HDR image from the three RAW exposures, I used Qtpfsgui on my home office box running Ubuntu Linux. Qtpfsgui installed cleanly (props to davromaniak.eu) and seems to work well. There are also Windows and Mac builds of Qtpfsgui that can be downloaded.

(Update Wed Jun 27 16:03:29 PDT 2007 // updated for clarity)

Outlaws
Berkeley and Olivia are going to be sharing a birthday party this year. I'm against the idea, but Kristy says neither kid will mind. The theme of the party is going to be a cowboy hoedown. The party announcements will feature a picture of the two little outlaws, like this picture below:

Bribes of the Last Resort
I can't really remember how long now we have been trying to potty train Eliana. I have a blog entry dated from September 2006 that appears to indicate that we are going on about nine months. It has been a challenge to say the least and frankly we are both tired of fighting her about it.

We have tried all kinds of positive reinforcement and encouragement. None of it has worked. I just don't think she really cares if she goes in the toilet or in her underwear; despite the fact that most of her peers (well, except her cousin Isabella) are all potty trained. Even Emily is better than Eliana at going potty in the toilet... argh!

This morning, I pulled out the big gun - the granddaddy bribe of the last resort - Chuck E. Cheese's; a place she asks to go to at least once per week, if not more. I mocked up a simple sticker chart with seven spaces below a Chuck E. Cheese's logo. Then I printed out a couple of Chuck E. Cheese's coupons I found on-line and called them "tickets" and taped the chart and the tickets up next to her toilet. I told her if she can go seven days without an accident (day and night), then we will reward her by going to Chuck E. Cheese's.

If this doesn't work, then nothing will.

Filet Mignon
This is Kristy's favorite dinner.

2 10oz filet mignon, 1½-inch thick
2 shallots, minced
½ cup white wine
1 tsp lemon juice
4 tbs butter
2 tsp parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

In small saucepan over medium heat, cook shallots in wine and lemon juice until almost all of the liquid has evaporated. Cool completely. Cream cooled shallot mixture, parsley, salt, pepper, and butter in small bowl. Form until a cylinder, wrap is waxed paper, and chill until firm.
Slice thin disk of butter onto one side of filet mignon, broil for 8-9 minutes. Repeat on other side for another 8-9 minutes. Remove from oven and grill over high heat for 1-2 minutes on each side. Plate with a fresh pad of the seasoned butter. Serve with bernaise sauce and steamed asparagus.

Bernaise Sauce
This is kind of a pain to make, but it's worth it. Great sauce for filet mignon.

1 egg yolk
1 tsp lemon juice
5 tbs cold butter, cut into tablespoon pieces
1 shallot, minced
1 tsp tarragon
1 tsp parsley
¼ white wine
salt and pepper to taste

In a small saucepan, beat egg yolk and lemon juice with wisk over very low heat until light and creamy. Whisk in butter a tablespoon at a time, being sure the pan never gets hot enough to melt the butter. Remove from heat from time to time if necessary. Continue beating until all butter has been emulsified. The sauce should be thick and creamy.

In another saucepan combine shallots, tarragon, parsley, wine, salt, and pepper. Boil over high heat until the liquid is reduced by half. Strain liquid and reserve 1 teaspoon of the herb/shallot mixture; cool liquid to room temperature. Combine liquid with sauce and reserved shallots/herbs. Serve immediately.

(Updated Tue Jun 26 14:57:35 PDT 2007 // fixed for spelling and grammar)

Father's Day Weekend: Sunday
Today started with the Father's Day breakfast in bed. See picture:

We spent the rest of the day just by ourselves. I snapped a couple of pictures of the kids at play before church. Berkeley has been playing a lot with lego-type blocks and building "space ships" of late. Every day he'll build something and come show one of us. Eliana used her "neck-a-lace" to go fishing at the top of the stairs (she does this quite often). See pictures below:

In the evening, we made an excellent dinner of filet mignon (and bernaise sauce). Yum.

Father's Day Weekend: Saturday
It appears that Father's Day this year will actually be Father's Day weekend as today I was awarded with a bunch of gifts from the wife and kids. Kristy got me an inflatable kayak and the kids got me a bunch of family camping gear, including a tent and some air mattresses.

I was a bit down on the kayak idea, only for the reason that it seemed like it would just add clutter to our garage. But the kayak is inflatable and will break down and stow away into an over-sized backpack. The kids love the thing... they bounced in and out of it while it was still partially inflated. Then we took it out on Pine Lake for its maiden voyage. See below for some pictures:

After our kayaking activity, we traveled down to the Coray's for a very disappointing barbeque (Spencer should not be allowed near the grill). The cousins, per usual, all had a grand time playing together... and we had a hard time peeling our kids away from Jenna's vast inventory of toys.

(Update Mon Jun 25 17:13:23 PDT 2007 // fixed grammatical errors)

Unanticipated Anaphylactic Shock
On our way back home from the movies last night we stopped by McDonalds (for the primary purpose of breaking a $20 to make change for the babysitter)... I bought a hot fudge sundae. I asked for a packet of the chopped peanut topping, but they were all out. I saved the sundae until we arrived back home, whereupon I chopped up about 12-15 roasted almonds for a sundae topping. We paid the babysitter, I ate the sundae, and then we went to bed.

About two hours later I woke up with a feeling in my throat like something was stuck halfway down my esophagus. It reminded me of the feeling I get when I don't chew something well enough (accidentally of course) and the result is a partial obstruction that makes its way down the esophagus slowly and roughly. The feeling was painful enough to wake me up, so I got up and drank some water and then laid down waiting for the feeling to go away. But it didn't go away. In fact, it got worse. My sinuses which were clear when I awoke, became clogged over the course of the next 10 minutes. My airway became restricted to the point that it became a great burden to move air in and out of my lungs. Kristy woke up and wanted to call 911, but the feeling passed and soon I was breathing ok again, albeit still with some minor difficulty. But it was pretty dire there for a couple of minutes.

I've actually had this feeling before when I have eaten almonds but not this severe. I've always figured it was just heartburn. I was about to go back to bed, but Kristy (at the behest of Dave, who I called) insisted that I drive down to urgent care. So I did. The doctor on call gave me an injection of steroids (Prednisol?) and a prescription for some additional steroid intake as well as a prescription for a couple of EpiPens. I'll make an appointment with an allergist next week to do a follow-up and get tested.

I'm a bit stunned to say the least. I've been eating almonds for pretty much my whole life. I love the Blue Diamond roasted and salted varieties. So... why now? I'm almost 38. Why not when I was a young man? Weird.

(Update Mon Jun 25 16:45:22 PDT 2007 // fixed grammar mistakes)
(Update Fri Jun 29 12:10:20 PDT 2007 // fixed spelling)

Movie Review: Ocean's Thirteen

Ocean's Thirteen seems a bit too fast-paced and formulaic... all the faces are back, but the passion is gone. The new characters are rarely on screen and not developed. And noticeably absent is the flirty repartee between a lead male and lead female character (Eleven had Clooney and Roberts, Twelve had Pitt and Zeta-Jones). Without that, the film is pretty much just an average "Sting"-like caper flick. Entertaining, but not worth the $20 in ticket prices. Rent this one instead.

Preschool Carnival
Today was Berkeley's last day of preschool. The school celebrated the last day by throwing a carnival. The carnival included food, drinks, games, inflatables, prizes, and some big yellow bus that Berkeley has been talking about all week (the name of the bus escapes me now - but the interior has been converted to a jungle gym of sorts). The kids had a great time. Eliana went on the inflatable slide over and over again, and both of them went back several times to "ride" the bus.

Berkeley didn't seem at all sad about the fact that he'll likely not see many of his classmates ever again, and will probably only see his old teachers maybe now and then next year while Eliana is going to the same preschool. When I asked him if he was sad to say goodbye, he just simply stated:

"Dad, I'll make new friends at my new school next year."

Seems like a pretty good attitude to have. Good boy.

(Update Mon Jun 25 16:44:09 PDT 2007 // fixed grammar problem)

Beverage Review: Root Beer: Bulldog

The Bulldog Root Beer is a nice mellow brew. The flavor is built on a honey undertone and is delicate and sweet; it finishes with a slight hint of wintergreen. The carbonation is light and perfectly suited for the subtle flavor. This is a good brew... definitely better than most. However, the Bulldog is a bit too "honeyed" for my own personal taste.

Standing up For Bath Time
Kristy snapped a picture of Olivia today standing up at the side of the tub while waiting for bath time. Here it is (click to enlarge):

When I was looking at it for the purposes of this blog entry, I realized that I have one just like it of Eliana in the gallery from October 2004, specifically... this one of Eliana:

So I quickly made up a small page to tile the images side by side:

Eliana and Olivia Bath Time

Those body types are pretty similar: the thin waist, the large buttocks (Eliana's has a little more junk in her trunk than Olivia), the broad shoulders. The faces are completely different, but the rest of them are obviously from the same mold.

(Update Sun Jun 24 22:02:20 PDT 2007 // fixed up pop-up window height)

Olivia's First Tooth
Olivia has cut her first tooth... the bottom right front tooth. It is all the way through today, but Kristy said it technically poked through for the first time back on the 7th.

(Update Sun Jun 24 21:55:03 PDT 2007 // Kristy added corrections)

Product Review: Pandigital 7-inch Photo Frame
I picked up a Pandigital 7-inch Photo Frame today from my nearby Staples ($89). We bought it as a gift to give to our longtime child care provider, Lori, who is going away to college. I spent the better part of this evening playing around with it and am very unimpressed with the product.

The photo frame includes the common features found on most photo frames: 128 MB built-in memory, slots for a variety of external memory cards, mp3 support, and a slideshow feature. The first thing I tried was to just dump some MP3 files and some full-sized pictures onto the internal memory and see what would happen. The result was a slideshow of some very poorly re-sized pictures on a poor quality LCD monitor. The upside was that the music sounded great! I realized that I wasn't going to be able to do anything about the poor LCD hardware (hey... I get what I pay for), but I played around with the picture sizing so that I could avoid the built-in non-smart re-sizing included in the frame. After a few attempts, I was able to get a decent result - not great, but good enough.

Pandigital's bios/UI leaves a lot (a lot!) to be desired. It is slow, clunky, and less than friendly. Furthermore, the on-frame controls are completely non-intuitive (fortunately the remote works well). I would expect that if I owned or kept this product for myself that I would not change pictures very often, just to avoid the experience of working with the frame. But once the frame is set up, it functions ok... just don't look too closely at the quality. The more expensive pandigital frames probably have better LCD screens, but they all likely share the same crappy UI. Yuck.

I would not recommend this product except to those that are looking for something that is cheap; there must be better options out there.

(Postscript Sun Jun 24 19:07:41 PDT 2007 // Kristy bought another one of these today from Staples for her Dad for Father's Day. It appears that the buttons have been updated with a new revision of the model, but no upgrades to the bios. The LCD quality seems worse with this model than the previous one. Not good.)

Be Happy Sack Lunches
The other day Berkeley and I were in the car coming home from somewhere (maybe it has been two months ago now, I can't recall exactly). At the corner of the freeway exit, a man was holding a cardboard sign and asking for money. We drove past him. Berkeley asked me about the man. I remember now telling him that some people don't have a home or a bed to sleep in, some people don't have food to eat, and that we should help whenever we can because "we are the Berretts and Berretts help people" (or something to that effect).

It must have had an impact. A few days ago, while Berkeley was in the car with Kristy, they were at the same exit and saw a different man with a sign asking for money and food. Berkeley told Kristy that we have to help the man because "We are the Berretts. We help people." And so Kristy drove to a nearby Burger King, bought a combo meal, and then returned to the exit to with the intent to give it to the homeless man. But the man had since left.

So today for Family Home Evening we made some sack lunches for the express purpose of giving to people that we see on the side of the road (instead of giving money). The lunches include a juice box, a bag of trail mix, a package of fruit leather, and some fruit snacks. We had a little assembly line going. I opened up the sack and put in the bag of trail mix, then Eliana put in the juice box, Berkeley put in the rest, and Kristy stapled it shut.

Then Berkeley, without prompting, decorated some of the bags. Here is the result:

We have about twelve of these in the back of the car now for future use.

(Update Mon Jun 25 16:41:37 PDT 2007 // updated for grammatical clarity)

Sugar Glaze
This simple sugar glaze is excellent brushed over chocolate cake made in a bundt or other decorative pan (we have a pan that produces a cake in the form of a sunflower). My sister-in-law Kathy claims this is her favorite dessert that I make.

This recipe for the sugar glaze was written down on paper and has been in and out of several cupboards in the kitchen for the better part of probably five years. Today I had a hard time finding it and thought I lost it, so I figured that I should probably record it here for future reference.

1 freshly baked cake, still warm
3 tbs water
1 tbs butter
1 T granulated sugar
2/3 cup powdered sugar
dash vanilla

Combine water, butter, and granulated sugar in small saucepan. Heat until bubbly. Remove from heat and stir in powdered sugar and vanilla. Brush glaze over top of freshly baked cake until the upper layer of the cake is saturated with the glaze.

Use is not restricted to chocolate cake... I'd like to try this on a lemon cake, but Kristy is not a fan of lemon desserts.

(Update Mon Jun 25 16:36:36 PDT 2007 // updated for clarity)

Vegetable Barley Soup with Pork
While preparing Bertha's Ribs, the stock produced when tenderizing the ribs is an excellent base for a hearty vegetable soup. So don't throw it away!

6 cups pork broth
2 boneless pork chops
1 onion
1 cup diced carrots
1 clove garlic, minced
½ cup diced celery
½ cup barley
½ cup dried beans (I use lentils)
½ cup long grain wild rice
1 tsp basil
1 bay leaf
dash Tabasco hot pepper sauce
salt and pepper to taste

After preparing Bertha's Ribs, reserve the liquid used to tenderize ribs; pour liquid into two 2-quart juice containers (or one large 4-quart juice container if you have one). Refrigerate until fat separates and hardens. Skim fat from surface of liquid and discard. Supplement the liquid with water (or canned broth) to make 6 cups. Place all ingredients in crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Break apart pork chops into chunks before serving.

(Update Mon Jun 25 16:34:46 PDT 2007 // fixed for grammar)

Getting Dressed For Church
Eliana got up this morning and came downstairs. "I'm already dressed for Church guys.", she announced.

We thought the leggings were a nice touch.

(Update Sun Jun 24 22:01:26 PDT 2007 // corrected for spelling)

Olivia's First Words
Olivia can say about four words now: "ma" (Mom), "dæ" (Dad), "hai" (Hi), and "oh-oh" (Uh oh). While I was downstairs today, I heard Olivia saying her "dæ" over and over again. I didn't notice the sound at first because it was a bit quiet... almost like background noise. I walked over to the stairwell to investigate. I only took a few steps up the stairs when I heard Olivia giggle above me. She was standing with her hands wrapped around two of the rod-iron stair railings. She seemed so pleased with herself that she was able to beckon for me and have me come into her field of view. It was cute.

(Update Mon Jun 25 16:31:38 PDT 2007 // fixed grammar)

Restaurant Review: Pine Lake Pizzeria

We are very fortunate to live so close to a good, quality, locally-owned, pizzeria - Pine Lake Pizza. We have been ordering pizzas from Pine Lake Pizza for as long as we have lived here. We have tried the national chains (Papa John's, Domino's, etc) and have tried the local chains (Garlic Jim's)... and the stuff we get from there is good enough, but Pine Lake Pizza is better. It's not the best pizza ever, but it's the best pizza that can be delivered to our home.

My personal favorites are the "non-traditional" gourmet combinations: the alfredo chicken pizza, the "Polynesian" (which is basically a Hawaiian but with BBQ sauce instead of tomato sauce), the BBQ Chicken pizza, and the Margerita. Actually, I haven't had one of the gourmet selections that I didn't like.

Movie Review: Stranger Than Fiction

Harold Crick was a man of infinite numbers, endless calculations, and remarkably few words. And his wristwatch said even less. Every weekday, for twelve years, Harold would brush each of his thirty-two teeth seventy-six times. Thirty-eight times back and forth, thirty-eight times up and down. Every weekday, for twelve years, Harold would tie his tie in a single Windsor knot instead of the double, thereby saving up to forty-three seconds. His wristwatch thought the single Windsor made his neck look fat, but said nothing.

So begins Stranger Than Fiction starring Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson, and Dustin Hoffman. It is a very intriguing and entertaining film... part comedy, part drama, part romance, and part fairy-tale. And don't let the casting of Will Ferrell fool you. He turns in a nice dramatic performance (and perhaps is trying to turn away from his previous slapstick roles a la Tom Hanks and Jim Carrey).

Harold Crick is an IRS agent that leads a very perfunctory (and compulsive) existence... that is, until he starts hearing a voice in his head that narrates his life "only with a better vocabulary". After the narration foretells Harold's own death, Harold enlists the help of a psychologist who recommends medication... or a visit to the local university English literature professor (played by Dustin Hoffman). He chooses the latter.

Meanwhile, Harold is auditing a local baker/socialist/anarchist (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and can't stop "o-ogling" her. The relationship creaks awkwardly along while Harold continues his visits with Professor Hoffman in an attempt to figure out what current author is narrating his life. Eventually, Harold figures out the identity and confronts the author (Emma Thompson) begging her not to conclude the novel with his death... but it's too late, she has already concluded the novel as she has all of her novels previously published - with the main character's demise.

Harold does not read the ending immediately, but instead allows Professor Hoffman to read it. The professor declares that the ending is a "masterpiece" and cannot be changed. He's "sorry" he says. What follows is Crick's dilemna of forseeing his own death and the realization that he must go through with it.

If it sounds corny, it really isn't. It is intelligently done... it's not emotional, but just very quiet and pensive. The presentation allows you to meditate with Ferrell's character about what he must do. But I won't spoil the ending. Go see it for yourself. It's a good film and will make you smile.

(modified Mon Jun 25 16:30:40 PDT 2007 // fixed grammar)

Olivia Helping with Laundry
Kristy took Berkeley and Eliana to the park this evening. I stayed home with Olivia and did some chores around the house, including some laundry. Olivia did some helping... she pulled all of the clothes out of the washer for me. Here are some pictures of her just getting started:

Massaman Curry with Chicken
This is an very tasty recipe for my favorite kind of curry. Props to my friend, Norm Jones, for recommending the excellent Mae Ploy brand of the massaman curry paste (which I found at my local Asian market, Uwajimaya).

½ package (25 g) Mae Ploy Brand Massaman Curry Paste
1 can coconut milk
2 chicken thighs
2 small Yukon Gold potatoes
1 medium sweet onion
6-8 baby carrots
2 tbs fish sauce
2 tbs brown sugar
1 kaffir lime leaf
½ fresh pineapple (or 1 can pineapple chunks)
¼ cup roasted peanuts or cashews
about 1 tsp cornstarch, to thicken

Over medium heat combine coconut milk and curry paste in a 4-quart saucepan; simmer for 5 minutes. While the curry and coconut milk simmer, peel potatoes and cut into ¼-in thick slices, then cut each slice in half. Chop chicken, pineapple, onion, and carrots into chunks.

Add chicken, potatoes, onion, carrots, fish sauce, brown sugar, and lime leaf to coconut curry sauce. Simmer for 15 minutes until potatoes and chicken are tender. Add pineapple and peanuts. Simmer for an additional 5-10 minutes. If desired, whisk cornstarch into 1 tbs water or chicken stock and add to curry to thicken.

Serve hot over rice.

Note: Whole Foods carries kaffir lime leaves.

Restaurant Review: Pallino Pastaria

We eat at Pallino more than any other restaurant. I'm actually surprised I have not posted a review before... maybe I'd always presumed I'd already done so, or that I'd just get it the next time. Not sure. Anyway, I took the kids out to lunch today. We weren't planning on eating at Pallino, and had actually drove out to Preston to find the new location of Sherm's BBQ. We found Sherm's but they were out of the Sherm's scrumptious homemade Mac-n-Cheese. So we bailed and went to Pallino instead.

Pallino has tasty food. It's not the best food ever, but it is very solid for the price point (just a couple dollars more per person than McDonald's). Over the years and probably two or three dozen visits to Pallino, I've had quite a bit of the food on the Pallino menu. The Bruschetta is an excellent appetizer to start with. I haven't had a Panini there I didn't like. The Fagioli (Tuscan white bean soup) is superb. The pizzas are all quite good. Of the salads I've tried, the Dolcetto is the best... while the Caprese is a close second. For pasta, my recommendation is to stick with the seafood dishes. The bread (all you can eat) is very moist and chewy... great with a pad of butter.

As much as the kids love Sherm's Mac-n-Cheese, I think they probably like the Mac-n-cheese at Pallino better. Or maybe I'm projecting... because it actually is better (even if the kids don't realize it). Today I got them some dessert to try too. A regular and a chocolate cannoli (Curious George's favorite dessert... dontchaknow?). They liked the chocolate one better than the original (I thought they were both good).

Summary: Part of our standing rotation... a solid choice for lunch or dinner with the family.

(Update Mon Jun 25 16:28:07 PDT 2007 // fixed bad grammar)

Olivia's Favorite Dessert - Lollipops
Olivia loves chomping on lollipops anytime during the day, but we try and keep her consumption of such in a controlled environment. It can get messy. Here is a series of pictures of Olivia enjoying a lollipop:

Kindergarten Open House
Sunny Hills Elementary held an open house this evening and invited all prospective kindergartners to attend. I was able to attend with Berkeley. While there, we saw quite a few kids that Berkeley knows... from preschool or from Church.

Berkeley met his teacher he will have next year, Mrs. Weber. Mrs. Weber took us (and some of Berkeley's classmates) on a tour of the school with stops at the music room, the gymnasium, the cafeteria, the library, Berkeley's classroom, and the playground. Berkeley's favorite part was the playground. His second favorite was the library. But he had fun the whole time. He is pretty excited about the prospect of attending elementary school.

Home Renovation Project: Attic Conversion: Plans Submitted
We were able to get the last set of revisions to our plans turned around pretty quickly from our designer. We took the plans to the City today to submit them for review. We were told that it should take about 4-6 weeks to complete the review and issue the building permit - that is, if there are no problems. Of course, the sooner the better. The dry months of July, August, and September are right around the corner.

The three persons that briefly went over the plans today with us said they look very well organized and complete. I hope that works in our favor. One small item that they brought to our attention is that the 35' height restriction is measured against the average grade at the midpoints of each wall section of the house. Looks like we will want to build up the flower beds around the perimeter of the house... just to be on the safe side.

Beverage Review: Root Beer: Americana

There are literally hundreds of different brands of root beer. One web site lists 2000+ brands of root beer. Though I haven't tried more than about 60 different brands, I feel like I've tried enough of a variety to establish some credible ratings.

As with my ginger ale ratings, I'm going to lead off my root beer reviews with what I think is the best root beer brand available on the market today... Americana.

Americana teases the nose with a beautiful, rich, rooty bouquet. The carbonation is not overbearing and only produces a small head when poured into a chilled glass. Americana root beer is very dark; once placed in a glass, you cannot see through it. The taste is also very dark with a wonderful blend of sassafras, licorice, and vanilla. There is only enough sugar added to make the Americana root beer just a tad sweeter than bitter. It finishes magnificently and leaves your tongue probing your teeth and lips for just a few more drops of the divine flavor.

Americana is microcrafted here locally (in Redmond), but it is still hard to find. My local QFC used to carry it, but does not now. I was then going down to the Issaquah QFC to buy it... they have stopped stocking it too. The Bellevue QFC (by Bellevue Square) currently is the only QFC I have found that stocks Americana. I talked with the soda pop buyer at the Bellevue QFC today ("Nate") and he told me that the Americana product is hard to stock with regularity so they have decided to just offer it at a few stores. He assured me that as long as they can get it from the distributor, QFC will stock it... he said it is a fairly popular item. While I was at the Bellevue QFC today, I cleaned out their stock - just 8 bottles. You can order Americana on-line, but it will cost about $3 per bottle (including shipping)... ouch

If you can find it, Americana Root Beer is well worth the price - it is a splendid beverage. I have found many brands that approach Americana's greatness, but none so far are its equal.

(Update Sun Jun 24 19:10:37 PDT 2007 // fixed grammar)

Backyard Photos
I promised my sister-in-law Jessica (the sister-in-law Jessica on Kristy's side, not the sister-in-law Jessica on my side) that I would send her some pictures of our backyard. I promised her the pictures about two weeks ago. Oops.

Here they are:

A Sharp Visit
We had the Sharps over for dinner tonight. They recently adopted a second child. Her name is Sophie and she is a wonderful and very beautiful little girl. Berkeley, Sammy, and Eliana played in the sprinklers and in the hot tub for most of the evening, taking only a small break for dinner and ice cream. We had a melange of grilled seafood for dinner - halibut, copper river salmon, and scallops. It was a fine meal. The four of us promised to get together more often.

Movie Review: Prime

One part of the movie that both Kristy and I enjoyed was the fact that the movies is primarily concerned with the romance between an older woman and a much younger man. Given the fact that too many Hollywood movie romances feature a 50-yr-old man with a 20-something woman (think Entrapment), this reversal of roles was refreshing.

The ending was a bit weak. The two characters decide that they can't stay together because all they have is love and love is not enough (or something like that). I didn't get the logic of this and thought the ending was contrived and disappointing. Maybe she figured that an older woman and a younger man can't work? I don't know.

Summary: A satisfying film, but the ending was a bit weak.

Back in the Open Water
Scott and I took a swim at 7am this morning in Pine Lake. We swam about a half a mile (800 yards). The water temperature was 69 degrees. Scott wore his wetsuit, but I just swam in a speedo. It was a bit brisk when I jumped in, but after about 100 yards... the water seemed just fine for a swim.

The water quality was surprisingly turbid. The weather has only been sunny and clear as of late with very little wind. There was quite a bit of debris near the shorelines in the lake due to our crazy stormy winter. I saw at least one fallen tree in the water... but I imagine as I swim different routes around the lake in the coming weeks, I'll find others.

I'm getting a bit of a late start this year compared to last year; I've been a slacker. But in my feeble defense, I did have one less kid this time last year... that could have something to do with it. Or not - I've just been lazy. Need to get back in the groove. My shoulders are sore.

(Update Sun Jun 3 23:10:48 PDT 2007 // fixed for grammar)